Queen of the Sixth Grade

The Kids from Kennedy Middle School #1

by Ilene Cooper

After helping her supposed best friend Veronica found the sixth grade's secret club, the Awesome Kennedy Girls, Robin accidentally gets on her wrong side and discovers how bossy and cruel Veronica really is

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Nadine Keels · Rating 4 out of 5]

It happened again!

Here's another case where I wanted to find a book I read back in my younger years but couldn't remember the title or the author. And where this vintage middle grade fiction is concerned, there's also a series name (The Kids from Kennedy Middle School), which I couldn't remember either.

Well, this first book in the series isn't the specific book I was searching for. The cover art and the bit of the story I remembered was actually from Book Four.

But I also remembered enjoying all the books, whatever they were about. So, when another reader took the few details I could share, helped me search, and found the series (hooray, hooray!), I decided to start here, at the beginning.

Pretty standard fare for '80s and '90s elementary school kids reading about middle school kids. There's a girls' club that seems to exist primarily for the purpose of, well, leaving other girls out of the club.

There's some key stuff about boys and girls being in like with each other. Some fun extracurricular activities. Some gossip and bullying. Some youthful mouthing-off at parents that just would not have flown in the culture I come from.

And some lessons about meanness and kindness, and questions to ponder about popularity, acceptance, and friendship. Questions that don't all include spoon-fed answers but that trust readers to do their own pondering.

Hey. It's quite possible that I enjoyed this story the more because of my nostalgia, having rediscovered this book after decades. But nostalgia—plus my appreciation for good old-fashioned, overall positive stories—is winning, here.

I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

Note:
• bullying includes body shaming that is presented in a negative light but not with a contrasting theme of body positivity

[Rey Solo]

My favourite all time elementary school book for some reason.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another favorite from childhood I re-read this week. This one didn't stand up as well, though. Two best friends fall out over a bland nice boy, although there are some deeper themes below the obvious hook. While I appreciated the contrasting personalities of Robin and her best friend and some very realistic portrayals of competition between them (both overt and covert), the characters were not as fully realized as I would like for this level of story and the redemption of Robin felt far-fetched (although I did appreciate Robin's struggle with her desire to get revenge when the tables turned).

*Originally read in 1990. Reread in 2015.

[Cheese Grater · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a drama book. Not really my style, but it was good for a first time. I ACTUALLY liked it a lot.

[Debora Yao · Rating 2 out of 5]

it look like a good book because the girl really doesn't like her bestfriend and they were going to make a club name AKG.